Monticello, NY – Lawyers agreed Tuesday to postpone a hearing on whether to allow some 90 Chasidic residents to vote in the Town of Bethel.

While residents packed the courtroom, lawyer Gerald Orseck and County Attorney Sam Yasgur said they had reached an agreement whereby the question would be put off until the absentee ballots are counted. The Board of Elections will open about 300 ballots on Thursday.

Both sides have agreed to drop the case if the absentee ballots do not change the outcome of any of the races.

Orseck had asked Judge Frank LaBuda to dismiss challenges to 95 new registrations on a technicality.

County Legislator Dave Sager challenged the registrations after Satmar (UTA) this summer commenced a voter registration drive while in a dispute over the construction of a shul on Schultz Road.

If outcomes do change, all the parties will be back in court before LaBuda.

(Source: Times Herald Record)